Hey everyone,
As far as
go, snow is certainly an issue. Snow is an issue with any building. Just look as Boston where building that have withstood 250 years are failing all over the city. My cousin had to shovel off his house 4 times already.
So unless you are planning on building a full-scale yurt with 2x4 rafters (for a smaller diameter) I would not count on having it winter-ready without planning on brushing off the snow every 3" at a time. Lighter yurts may stand up to the snow, but it is so unpredictable that you risk collapse from uneven loading unless it is strong enough to take anything that the weather can trow at it. Blowing snow can easily make a drift on one side that is much deeper than the average snowfall and cause collapse. Yurts are strong, but snow is always heavier.
The ring is one of the weak points to lightweight yurts. Our compression ring is a steam-bent hardwood ring that weighs in at 4-6 pounds. This make it super easy to carry, setup and store. It holds hundreds of pounds of weight, but will fail at higher or uneven loading. It can be strengthened with fiberglass at additional cost, but it is not necessary for a standard camping yurt for all use except in snow.
The issue with strength to weight is the main factor. All yurts can be made stronger with larger and heavier materials. No real news there. It shows the adaptability and the problems of the structure in the modern world.
Many people want yurts to use as a permanent space, or one that matches the comforts and use of real solid buildings. Yurts are tents, they are not buildings. They were designed to be portable and light weight. The Mongolians made them as light as they could, while still realizing that they would freeze to death if they let their yurt collapse in the winter. Now we can make yurts that are much lighter - our yurts are 50-200 pounds - because they are not our only homes. We can also make yurts that are so heavy that they will most likely never be moved - any large yurt with a platform and all of the modifications that are added.
As far as Brooklyn, we have setup a few of our yurts in backyards, or in small spaces. They are considered tents because they are lightweight and easy and fast to setup (30 min), but are not meant to be used all winter long in snowy climates. We would recommend one of our yurts that can be used when needed and are small enough to store in a closet during most of the winter or when you don't expect to use it for a week.
We did just find a new cover fabric with integrated
that should be way better than the reflective
at a full R10 as opposed to a theoretical reflective R-value. But it is a while away from production ready. We know about yurts in winter. I am sitting in one right now at it is -4F outside and the yurt has two layers of reflective insulation. It works, but not well compared to any standard house insulation. Certainly not as well as a crappy 2x4 wall with fiberglass insulation. That is the main issue we have with yurts, their energy efficiency.
Matt Rogers
www.cleanairyurts.com